Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125822
.-.. l ... Tortoise-Hare EUl'Opean Sc,atnbles place second M ell N ~ « By Larry Langley Photos by Maria Holley and Langley en ~ w SOGGY DRY LAKE, CAL., AUG. 12 Z W ..J U > U The calendar in Cycle News said Soggy Dry Lake, but they lied. You went past Soggy Dry Lake and onward into the boonies on a whoop-de-doo trail which had a lot of vehicles who had it shifting into 4-wheel drive. The rest of us skiddered along, hoping to find· the pits. At long last we came over a rise and there they were, pretty well hidden in a haze of dust. The wind was not blowing at all and the dust just hung there. We unloaded our bikes and took a look at the Desert Turtles Novice course, since they reported a nice six foot drop off abou t halfway around the 10 mile course. The course was fast - not much to slow you down until you hit the before mentioned drop off, and right after that was a tight section that turned the riders back toward the home check. Things didn't start off well as the ambulances were late, and all the starts had to be moved back to 9 AM. Finally the races went off, and it soon became apparent that whoever (with few exceptions) got the good start was out in front of a massive dust cloud and had it pretty well made. The leads in the races I saw were just unreal. If you were back in the pack at least you were getting some practice in for the Barstow to Vegas start. Tom Barrett (Bul) led from start to finish, with Charles Barny (Yam) second. The second race on the Desert Turtles schedule was the big boys. Again the dust was a factor, and Mitch Mayes (Hus) came smoking into the imish check with a good lead. The dust was so thin k at the imish curve that some riders missed it altogether, came around wide, and had to do some fancy manuevering to B"t their numbers taken. Jack Knebel (CZ) and Tom Smith (Yam) chased Mitch, but there was no way they were going to catch him unless he broke, which he didn't. I wanted to see Tommy Brooks in action so I headed over to the Jackrabbits Expert/Am course. Just before the Division II Expert - Lightweights came 'around to complete their first loop, a rider came up with a black flag with orders to stop the race! The word was that there were no ambulances on hand as they were o'n their way to the hospital with injured riders. I have never heard of a District 37 race being black flagged before, hu t history was made Sunday. There was quite a bit of confusion over how to do it. None of the riders knew what a black flag stood for! When Tommy Brooks Came in with a big lead they were waving it, and it became obvious that Tom wasn't going to stop, so everyone started waving and jumping in fron t of him. Finally Brooks stopped, and when it was explained to him what had happened, he went off with an incredulous expression on his face. The heat was really getting to the riders by now, and they were boping that they would call the race done with, but the rules say two-thirds must be run. It was decided to run just two laps when they restarted. There was quite a bit of static from some riders about stopping the race. In fact one rider tried to protest with a ten dollar bill in hand. I know it must have been disappointin g to some people to have to restart after doing good, bu t things must be brought into the proper perspective. No trophy, points, or placing is as important as the safety of the riders. The decision to stop the race was made by referees Ed Williams of the Desert Trutles and Denny McCoy of the Jackrabbits after consulting with Rescue Innocent young lady about to be taken advantage of by lecherous, djrty old biker. A group of motorcyclists attempting to escape from a dust storm. Mitch Mayes continued his winning streak in the desert. Three. At the time, Rescue Three was quite simply overwhelmed with the amount of injuries they had to contend with. With both ambulances on the way to the hospital they were afraid that if someone was seriously hurt, it was possible for him to die without proper medical transportation. I feel the clubs did the righ t thing. It wasn't an easy decision to make, especially since the. races were already running late. It took a lot of guts to stop everything and I commend both clubs. It's obvious they do care very much about the riders and will not compromise their safety. If you are one who bitched about it, you had best do some very serious soul searching about your values. End of sermon. After the restart Tommy Brooks came around with such a big lead that he stopped to get a drink of water, talked for awhile, kept looking back for the. second place rider and finally took off just playing. It must be frustrating for the rest of his class. He is just about unbeatable. The restart was of some benefit to second place Andy Kirker (Ric), as his clutch was going out on the first lap, and his dad was able to replace it during the wait for the ambulances to return. Monte Lee (Yam) took a well deserved third. Fourth was Bill Decker, who also took first Amateur. Tommy Brooks did what was expected of him; he won with ease. Cordis Brooks took his new 175 Bul to another Div II Lightweight win.